Making villages access energy smart solutions

Energy has been describes as a prerequisite for sustainable rural development. It is a golden thread that connects economic growth, social equity and environmental health.

Energy means, health and welfare, food security, democratic engagement, education, local business leading to integrated rural development.

This is the idea coming up from the smart village initiative project led by scientists at the University of Cambridge and Oxford in UK with key global partners, National Science Academies in a number of developed and developing countries.

The project which started last year is aimed at sensitizing communities who are off grid in East Africa mainly Rwanda and Tanzania, South East Asia, South Asia, South America, West Africa and Central America. Sensitizations will mainly include use of mini grid, pico solar power using clean affordable solar lights, use of biomass, use of diesel and gas and eventual graduation to hydroelectricity.

The team expects the sensitization to impact in communities in terms of affordable irrigation systems being used by farmers with water being pumped using solar energy, ground water storage and conservation, improved agronomy practice from side benefits of electricity.

Others are mini hydro schemes for community lighting, heating, refrigeration and other entrepreneur activities especially in countries like Bolivia leading to improved community cohesion, connectivity, security, health care and plans for electric cooking.

The team is already engaging communities in various regions in regional engagement programmes, entrepreneurial competitions, case study documentation and eventual impact evaluations, technical reports, policy briefs as well as media activities.

Dr Bernie Jones, the project co-leader based in UK while explaining the gist of the project at the World Conference of Science Journalists which took place in Seoul, South Korea last month; said his team initially met colleagues working with members of the European Academy of Sciences Advisory Council to explore opportunities and case studies of different types of energy used in different communities in the globe.

The European Commission in its capacity identified a problem and had about 600 million Euros to invest in the energy sector with partners in various countries in the world mainly funding construction of hydroelectricity dams which they thought would be easy to manage.

For the commission looking at rural electrification using other alternative energy sources was too much a challenge because it required less funds.

Smart cities

But the Smart Village team proposed they could come in to assist in the energy project without the European Commission getting involved.

The team gave the commission the idea of Smart villages, a challenge for entrepreneurs getting involved like giving them the right equipment and looking at technological innovation using energy solutions.

The Smart Villages Initiative team then got funding from the Templeton World Charitable Foundation (TWCF) and Cambridge Malaysian Education and Development Trust (CMEDT) to run the initiative which will be implemented till the year 2017.

“Different sources of energy be it biomass, use of wind, fuel wood, and pico solar, hydroelectricity among others means lighting, communication, link to internet to get information from the rest of the parts of the world, healthcare where you can use your charged phone to get information and data about particular diseases and send it to a hospital for proper diagnostics.

Everyone is talking about smart cities but rural communities must be availed services which city dwellers are enjoying,” Dr Bernie explained.

To him the trend of people living in rural areas migrating to cities should change and this can only be possible if they have access to energy.

Dr Bernie and his team have worked with the Masai Community in Tanzania who started processing energy from solar in a bid to use their community radio station for sensitizing their people not to migrate to the city.

The community in Terrat village later started to expand by using bio diesel processed from Jatropha.

Since the community had this mini grid to run power in the village, they were in position to set up a diary plant for processing milk and cheese; they now have saloon services and internet.

The team intends to work with engineers who will be in position to sensitize communities by processing their own wind turbines to process energy both for power lighting and cooking.

Dr Terry van Gevelt from the University of Cambridge UK giving the scenario of the Smart Villages concept explains that 47% of the World’s population resides in villages, 70% of the world’s poor people are living in rural areas and 1.3 billion are without electricity, 3 billion suffer from energy poverty with overwhelming majority in rural areas total to 85%.

Giving the scenario in South Korea he explained that in 1964 about 12% had electricity and in 1999 the number had risen to 80%.

This is because by 1970’s the household income of the rural communities was estimated to be $249 and in 1973, 1976 and 1979 it kept rising to $469, $1,128 and $2,172 respectively.

Looking at the Agriculture sector in South Korea many farmers are now engaged in Electricity powered processing, seedlings nurtured in greenhouses, television programs for farmers (85%), larger scale ranch management for livestock mainly piggery, market structured by cooperative processing and storage infrastructure and increased information about improved rural household bargaining power regarding their agricultural goods.

The rural industry comprise of companies manufacturing light industrial goods for export and domestic markets, food processing, textiles, leather products, wigs, furniture, paper products, chemicals, ceramics, electronics and different machine parts.

Globally the Maternal mortality rates are increasing as a result of lack of energy usage in many health facilities including Uganda.

Looking at the entire globe, incidences of new energy connections range from Fuel based lighting, cell batteries, solar lamps, wind solar and hydroelectricity among others used for refrigeration in homes and hospitals, lighting, cooking, and reading in schools and mobile phone charging among others.

Other countries mainly in the Asian world using mini grids are migrating to nano grids where a bunch of solar systems are put together and pico systems using set lights.

Already in use

Ms Claudia Canales from the University of Oxford explains that it is pertinent now encouraging rural communities to use energy sources like geothermal where heat is generated for power generation, tidal waves from the ocean and seas for generating power, Ocean temperatures from wave motions, treadmills, and bicycle wheel cyclizing dynamics.

These energy sources are already being used in Asian countries as well as a number of developed countries in communities where there is no hydroelectricity.

Researchers in various Universities are looking at options of making solar panels from simple hard paper.

One such an initiative is what is going on with science experts from Australia who are printing solar cells on hard paper using a printer in the studio for eventual generation of power.

This study is done in the darkroom for purposes of measuring the level of electricity the solar panel will be in position to generate as well as studying the level of indoor power which can be generated.

Social enterprises in Australia are already printing solar cells which can be utilized in larger areas but the scientists are testing if it can apply to rest of the countries in the world although entrepreneurs find it a challenge to construct the infrastructure where renewable energy can be used.

In Uganda, Science experts mainly at the Agricultural Engineering and Appropriate Technology Research Institute, Namalere (AEATRI are promoting use of agricultural waste for making biogas as a source of energy although a number of entrepreneurs are involved in selling solar lamps and panel mainly for lighting and charging phones in rural communities.

According to the 2012 statistics from Uganda Investment Authority detailing energy supply in the country, it states that the domestic market in Uganda notwithstanding indicates a great export market potential in the East African Community and the great lakes region.

Out of the 5% national grid only 2% rural households are connected to the national grid which is unreliable characterized by load shedding and continuous power outages.

The demand and consumption of fuel wood and charcoal is increasing with the increasing rural and urban population.

Household consumption of charcoal has doubled while the use of firewood increased by almost 70%
Apart from the Nalubaale power station that existed before, currently the two largest power development projects in the country are the 250MW Bujagali power station which came online in 2011 and the 750MW Karuma station coming online in 2016.

Currently the ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is encouraging Ugandans to use renewable energy which include solar energy, wind energy, biomass energy and geothermal energy generated by private service providers.

The 2009 energy report by the line ministry states that the country has an average of 5-6 KWh/m2/day of solar insulation, with an average of 8 sunshine hours per day, yearly, indicating an excellent potential for solar energy use.
Solar energy is currently used primarily for off network electrification for rural communities, as well as for solar cooking, and providing water heating and power to public buildings, like hospitals.

Kakira Sugar Works Limited and Kinyara Sugar Limited are both licensed to generate electricity for sale to the national grid from biogases, providing 12 MW and 5 MW respectively.

The report states that despite Uganda’s vast hydropower potential, estimated at 3000 MW, less than 10% is currently exploited.

A number of small hydropower plants, with total installed capacity of slightly over 15MW, are in operation in various parts of the country.

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